§ Mr. Ralph HowellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish figures showing the estimated cost of providing free school meals to(a) pupils and (b) teachers in (i) 1970–71, (ii) 1979–80 and (iii) 1984–85.
§ Mr. ButcherThe available information is given in the table.
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Estimated cost1 of free school meals—England £ million 1970–71 1979–80 1984–85 cash terms 1984–85 real terms
cash terms 1984–85 real terms
cash terms Net cost of all meals 82 396 409 626 432 Cost of free meals to pupils n/a n/a 106 163 198 teachers n/a n/a 25 38 30 1 The gross expenditure by local education authorities on all meals has been apportioned to the two categories in the ratio of the number of meals taken by each group to the total number of meals taken by paying and free pupils and adults. Note: The figures for the earlier years have been converted to 1984–85 real terms using the gross domestic product (market prices) deflator.
It is not possible to give a full set of figures for 1970–71 because the number of meals served to adults, including teachers, is not available.